Rice University

Location and Contact Information

The campus is in a large city.

Overview

Rice University is the name popularly used for William Marsh Rice University, a private research university founded in 1891 by Rice as The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science and Art. But the institution did not begin operating until 1912.

The campus sits on 285 acres of heavily wooded land. Rice's small size allows personal interaction between students and professors. In fall 2009, there were 3279 undergraduates and 2,277 graduate students. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 5-to-1.

Rice is divided into the following academic sections:

• Rice School of Architecture
• Rice Quantum Institute
• Rice Engineering Design and Development Institute
• Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology
• Computer and Information Technology Institute
• Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology
• James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
• Shepherd School of Music

The university offers more than 35 undergraduate programs, 50 Masters programs and over 25 doctoral programs. It has a high level of research activity and is especially noted for its applied science programs.

Rice was involved in pioneering work in artificial heart research, nanotechnology, space science and structural chemical analysis.

For varsity sports, Rice is a member of Conference USA. Prior to July 2005, it was a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Rice currently fields men's teams in football, baseball, basketball, cross country, track and field, golf and tennis and women's teams in basketball, cross country, track and field, tennis, soccer, swimming and volleyball.

Notable alumni include David Aardsma, MLB pitcher for San Francisco Giants; Tony Barker, former NFL player for Washington Redskins; Frank Beall Ryan, NFL quarterback, Yale athletic director; Charles Duncan, former president, Coca-Cola, former Secretary of Energy under President Jimmy Carter; Nancy Cole, educational psychologist; James Baker, former Secretary of State and of Treasury; John Kline and Pete Olson, U.S. congressmen; William Broyles, Jr., founder of Texas Monthly, former editor-in-chief, Newsweek, screenwriter; Eva Hoffman, author; Larry McCurty, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Oscar winner for "Brokeback Mountain"; James E. Gunn, astronomer at Princeton University; and Peggy Whitson, NASA astronaut. Candace Bushness, author of Set and the City" and Howard Hughes, writer, producer, aviator, billionaire, attended but didn't graduate.

Highlights (vs. Other Schools)

• Many students concentrating in mathematics, music, science, engineering, liberal arts, architecture and planning, and art studies.
• High faculty salary.
• High SAT scores (combined Verbal and Math).
• Selective admissions.
• Large number of programs of study offered.
• Good faculty-to-student ratio.
• High percentage of students are from out-of-state.
• High male/female ratio.
• Number of dorm rooms for students.
• Large number of students.

School characteristics:

• The school is private, not-for-profit.
• Academic calender: Semester.
• Carnegie classification: Doctoral/Research Universities, Extensive.

Features of note:

• The school offers a faculty tenure system.
• There are one or more libraries on-campus.
• Campus housing is available.
• Students have meal (board) plans.
• Students may study abroad.
• Weekend study is an option.
• Part-time classes are available.
• ROTC.
• Athlete financial aid is awarded.

Similar Schools

Based on proprietary BrainTrack computer comparisons against all other US colleges, these schools appear to be most similar to Rice University:

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Degrees Awarded (in 2009-2010)

Faculty

Tenure (2009-2010):

Students

Student enrollment was 5,357 in 2009-2010 (5,927 full-time equivalent).

About 52% of the freshmen class in 2009-2010 was male and women were 48% of the class.

Undergrads are 59% of enrolled students and graduate students are 41%.

Students under 25 years old represent 68% of the student body. About 3% of the school is at least 40 years of age.

Admissions Summary (2009-2010)

SAT Test Scores:

Room and Board

Rice University provides on-campus housing for 2,415 of its 5,927 (full-time) students (as of 2009-2010).

Students may purchase a meal plan which includes 19 meals weekly.

Athletics

School sports include football, basketball, baseball, and track. The school is in the Conference USA for major sports.

The school offers financial aid for athletes. Of students receiving athletic financial aid, 161 male students received the aid (men were 61% of those receiving aid) and 101 women were awarded financial aid based on athletics (representing 39% of students receiving such aid) .

Graduate School Focus

Rice University offers graduate (post-Bachelor) studies. The highest degree offered is the Doctorate (Research/Scholarship).

Graduate offerings include continuing professional education.The school's Graduate School Carnegie Classification is Comprehensive Doctoral (No Medical/Veterinary).

Programs of Study

(Number of degrees in 2009-2010 in parentheses)

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING (67 awarded)

• Architecture (BArch, BA/BS, MArch, MA/MS, PhD)

ART STUDIES (25 awarded)

• Art/Art Studies
• Visual and Performing Arts

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (288 awarded)

• Business Administration and Management

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (45 awarded)

• Computer and Information Sciences

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (1 awarded)

• Environmental Studies

EDUCATION AND TEACHING (6 awarded)

• Secondary Education and Teaching

ENGINEERING (265 awarded)

• Biomedical/Medical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
• Materials Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK (1 awarded)

• Public Policy Analysis

LIBERAL ARTS (316 awarded)

• Anthropology
• Asian Studies/Civilization
• Classical/Ancient Mediterranean/Near Eastern Studies & Archaeology
• Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics
• Economics
• English Language and Literature
• French Language and Literature
• German Language and Literature
• History
• Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
• Linguistics
• Medieval and Renaissance Studies
• Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies
• Political Science and Government
• Sociology
• Spanish Language and Literature
• Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS (71 awarded)

• Applied Mathematics
• Mathematics
• Statistics

MUSIC (94 awarded)

• Music

NUTRITION AND EXERCISE THERAPY (48 awarded)

• Kinesiology and Exercise Science
• Sport and Fitness Administration/Management

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY (39 awarded)

• Philosophy
• Religion/Religious Studies

SCIENCE (226 awarded)

• Astronomy
• Astrophysics
• Atomic/Molecular Physics
• Biochemistry
• Biology/Biological Sciences
• Chemical Physics
• Chemistry
• Ecology
• Geology/Earth Science
• Physics

THERAPY AND COUNSELING (68 awarded)

• Cognitive Science
• Psychology